Shloka 23

Devanagari script

मां च द्रोणं कृपं चैव यथा सम्मन्यते भवान्‌,रथ एकगुणो महां ज्ञेय: परपुरंजय: । अयं च युधि विक्रान्तो मन्तव्योडष्टगुणो रथ: मेरी दृष्टिमें शत्रुनगरीपर विजय पानेवाले काशिराजको साधारण अवस्थामें एक रथी समझना चाहिये; परंतु जिस समय ये युद्धमें पराक्रम प्रकट करने लगते हैं उस समय इन्हें आठ रथियोंके बराबर मानना चाहिये

Transliteration

māṃ ca droṇaṃ kṛpaṃ caiva yathā samman yate bhavān | ratha ekaguṇo mahān jñeyaḥ parapuraṃjayaḥ | ayaṃ ca yudhi vikrānto mantavyo 'ṣṭaguṇo rathaḥ ||

Translation

Бхишма сказал: «Как ты почитаешь меня, Дрону и Крипу, так же следует оценить и этого великого воина — покорителя вражеских городов. По обычной мере его надлежит считать равным одному колесничему-ратнику; но когда он являет доблесть в битве, его следует считать равным восьми колесничим-ратникам».

Word by Word

• {'mām': 'me (Bhīṣma)', 'droṇam': 'Droṇa (the preceptor and warrior)', 'kṛpam': 'Kṛpa (Gautama/Kṛpācārya, warrior and teacher)', 'caiva': 'and indeed', 'yathā': 'as, in the manner that', 'sam-manyate': 'esteems, considers, regards', 'bhavān': 'you (honorific)', 'rathaḥ / rathī': 'chariot(-warrior)

• a warrior measured by chariot-combat capacity', 'ekaguṇaḥ': 'of one measure

• single-fold (equal to one unit)', 'mahān': 'great, eminent', 'jñeyaḥ': 'should be known/understood as', 'parapuraṃjayaḥ': 'conqueror of enemy cities/strongholds', 'ayam': 'this one (the warrior being assessed)', 'yudhi': 'in battle', 'vikrāntaḥ': 'valiant, displaying prowess', 'mantavyaḥ': 'to be considered, to be reckoned', 'aṣṭaguṇaḥ': 'eightfold

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Droṇa
• Kṛpa
• Parapuraṃjaya (conqueror of enemy cities)
• Kāśirāja (King of Kāśi, as per the Gītā Press gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma distinguishes between nominal rank and battlefield performance: a warrior may be counted as a single rathī in ordinary estimation, yet in the heat of combat his effective power can rise dramatically—here, to an eightfold measure. The ethical point is sober, strategic appraisal rather than flattery or contempt.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s war-counsel context, Bhīṣma is advising how to evaluate key fighters. He references how the listener esteems senior warriors like Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and Kṛpa, and then gives a calibrated assessment of the ‘conqueror of enemy cities’—identified in the Gītā Press note as the King of Kāśi—whose combat potency increases when he is fully engaged in battle.